Second Chance — Completed

F-150 "Fraptor"

2017 Ford F-150 — 3.5L EcoBoost V6

A 2017 F-150 Lariat bought as a flood-titled IAAI auction truck in 2018 for about $17,000, converted into a Raptor-styled build over roughly nine months.

A finished build, written up after the fact. The earlier projects on this site are reconstructed from records, photographs and memory rather than logged as the work happened — Project Tremor is the first being documented part by part, in real time.

What was actually wrong

It carried a flood title with no visible flood damage. The real issue was a tree limb that had come through one of the two panoramic moonroof panels and smashed the bed. The moonroof got fixed first.

The find that changed the plan

Sourcing a replacement bed turned into a hunt that ended in Ohio, with a genuine Raptor bed — and that single find is what tipped the project from repairing a damaged truck into a full Raptor-style conversion. Nights and weekends went into forum research, eventually producing a parts list over 100 items long, including genuine Roush take-off components sourced from Atlanta.

The paint lesson

Partway through, the family moved house — the truck rolled into the new neighborhood wearing a grey Raptor hood, a white Raptor fender, a primer panel, a white Raptor bed, and a silver factory body, all at once. It was painted at Maaco to unify it, and looked great for about a year before it began to chip. The lesson learned too late: the cost that matters in a paint job is the prep, and that's exactly where a cheap job cuts corners.

Gallery

As acquired, before the Raptor-style conversion

Mid-conversion, before paint — Raptor front end fitted, body panels still mismatched

Finished — rear three-quarter, replacement bed

Additional photos

Scroll the row, or click any photo to enlarge it.

Notable components

Paint

Maaco

Done at Maaco on the single-stage enamel package, the tier carrying a one-year warranty. Looked excellent initially but began chipping about a year later — down to prep, not the paint itself.

≈ $2,500.00

Front bumper

Addictive Desert Designs

Pro bolt-on front bumper for the 2017-2019 Raptor.

$1,581.80

Replacement bed

Ford (Raptor)

A genuine Raptor bed, sourced via a parts trip to Ohio — the find that turned storm-damage repair into a full conversion. Bought through Facebook Marketplace.

≈ $1,500.00

Front control arms, upper and lower

Ford (OEM, Raptor spec)

All four arms, bought from Tasca Parts. The original invoice hasn't been recovered, so this figure is current OEM pricing for the same parts — uppers HL3Z-3084-C at $91.61 a side, lowers HL3Z-3078-D at $531.84 a side — rather than the amount actually paid in 2019.

$1,246.90

Coilovers and shocks

Fox

2.0 Performance Series set for the 2014-2018 F-150 4WD.

$1,026.22

Front fenders

Ford (Raptor take-off)

A pair of new take-off Raptor fenders, $495 each.

$990.00

Exhaust muffler

Corsa

14398 Sport Muffler Upgrade Kit.

$650.00

Front shock refurbishment

TSW Offroad

Both front shocks rebuilt at $200 each, plus $150 round-trip shipping.

≈ $550.00

Catalytic converter and hardware

Ford (OEM)

Converter, gasket, stud and nut. Includes $82.38 shipping.

$460.65

Engine gaskets, cams, sprockets and turbo bolts

Ford (OEM)

A single order covering cam sprockets, valve cover and intake gaskets, crank seals, water pump O-ring and turbocharger bolts. Includes $89.65 shipping.

$359.26

Blow-off valve

Turbosmart

TS-0215-1371 Smart Port BOV.

$259.99

Hood

Ford (Raptor, Roush take-off)

A genuine Roush take-off, sourced from Atlanta. No listing or receipt kept, so the price is from memory.

≈ $250.00

Side runner steps

Ford (Raptor spec)

Bought secondhand through Facebook Marketplace.

≈ $200.00

Front axle assembly, driver's side

Ford (OEM)

Part HL3Z-3A427-A.

$167.69

Belt molding and vacuum tubing

Ford (OEM)

Includes $24.39 shipping.

$128.91

IWE eliminators

RCV Performance

Fitted after the conversion caused problems with the integrated wheel ends. Austin recommends other owners doing this conversion do the same.

$105.00

Fox 2.5 front shock rebuild seal kit

Schmidty Racing

Viton seal kit with wear bands and pellet.

$37.50

Upper shock mount bracket

Ford (OEM)

$34.00

Hood bumpers, cap and base

Ford (OEM)

Includes $9.82 shipping.

$31.95

$12,079.87logged for components listed above — figures marked ≈ are from memory, not receipts

Financial summary

Purchase: $18,904
Transport: $500

Bought for $18,904 at auction through eRepairables, plus $500 to have it towed home from North Carolina. The paint job at Maaco ran about $2,500, on the single-stage package — the tier that carries a one-year warranty. The Raptor-style conversion was originally estimated at roughly $8,000; the component list above itemises what it actually came to, from receipts where they survived and from memory where they didn't. Eventually sold to make room for a family van.

Lessons learned

Sourcing genuine take-off OEM/aftermarket parts, rather than reproductions, takes real logistics — parts runs and forum research, not just online orders.
A bed replacement can become the decision that redefines the whole project. What started as fixing storm damage became a full Raptor-style build the moment a genuine Raptor bed turned up in Ohio.
A cheap paint job can look great on day one and still fail within a year if the prep work was cut short — the cost that matters most in paint is the part you can't see.
A salvage title can take a lot longer to arrive than the vehicle does. This truck was won at auction through eRepairables at the end of November 2018; a replacement salvage title still hadn't been issued six weeks later, with registration deadlines running the whole time. Buying direct at these auctions isn't open to an unlicensed buyer in Tennessee, so later purchases have gone through brokers bidding on the buyer's behalf — RideSafely and AutoBidMaster have both been straightforward. Budget for the wait, not just the purchase.